How to Bring a Claim Against the Police.

If you've read about the 'causes of action' and you think that you have a reason to sue the police for something they have done to you (or something they haven't done which they should have), there are several other things you need to know before you can consider taking legal action.

.: The Human Rights Act.

Under the Human Rights Act 1998, you can sue the police if they act in a way that doesn't fit in with the rights under the European Convention on Human Rights which the Act made part of British law. For more about this type of claim, see the Community Legal Service leaflet, 'The Human Rights Act'.

.: How Long have I got to bring my claim?

You should try and bring proceedings as quickly as you can, while events are still fresh in your memory (and any witnesses' memories). However, specific time scales apply, depending on the type of case you are bringing.

• You should give the police at least three months' notice that you plan to start a case against them, unless doing this would put you outside one of the following time limits.
• If you are claiming compensation from the police under the Human Rights Act, you have to issue court proceedings within a year of your rights being broken.
• If you are claiming compensation from the police for negligently injuring you, you have to issue court proceedings within three years of the day you were injured. In theory, if you say that the injury was caused deliberately, you have six years, but to be on the safe side, you should issue court proceedings within three years.
• For all other cases, you have to issue court proceedings within six years. If your claim is for malicious prosecution, the six years will run from the day you won your original case.

.: Who do l sue?

You can sue:-

• The police officer who you think was responsible; or
• The Chief Constable of the police force that the officer belongs to.

The Chief Constable will have the money to pay you any compensation if you win, so it is normal to sue them.

.: Who will decide on my case?

If your claim is for false imprisonment or malicious prosecution, you have the right to have your case tried by a jury, unless the jury will have to study a lot of documents as part of the evidence. You or your solicitor have to ask for a jury trial at the correct time. A judge will try all other cases, unless you ask for a jury trial and the court agrees. If you are claiming compensation loran injury, it is very unlikely that the court will let you have your case tried by a jury.

.: How much compensation can I expect to win?

In a case tried by a jury, the jury decides how much compensation you should get, although the judge will give them guidance. In other cases, the judge decides. It is not easy to predict how much compensation you will win. Each case is different and the judge's or jury's decision will be influenced by the evidence they have heard. However, the Court of Appeal has given some idea of how much compensation you should get in false imprisonment and malicious prosecution claims. For false imprisonment you should expect to get basic compensation of £500. This should increase to £3,000 if you are falsely imprisoned for 24 hours. For malicious prosecution, you should expect to get at least £2,000 in compensation. This will increase to £10,000 if the prosecution goes on for two years.

If the circumstances of your case are particularly bad, a judge or jury can award 'aggravated damages' on top of the basic compensation. They will do this if they feel this is needed to properly compensate you for what you have been through. This may be the case if:

• The circumstances of your arrest were especially humiliating; or
• The police were insulting or offensive. Aggravated damages should be at least an extra £1,000, but they shouldn't usually be more than twice the basic compensation.

In some cases a judge or jury may award 'exemplary damages. These are meant to punish the police when they have behaved very badly.

For example, if the police have:

• Lied when giving evidence; or
• Subjected you to sexist or racist abuse.

Exemplary damages should be at least £5,000 but no more than £50,000. They shouldn't normally mean that the total compensation is more than three times the basic compensation.